6 | JUNE 15 • 2023 

1942 - 2023

Covering and Connecting 
Jewish Detroit Every Week

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PURELY COMMENTARY

continued on page 8

O

n April 30 this year, 
I learned that Jewish 
American Heritage 
Month is the month of May. 
That’s right — I learned 
about Jewish American 
Heritage Month 
the day before 
it began, in the 
24th year of my 
life.
Three 
weeks later, I 
was given 15 
minutes of my 
employer’s monthly all-
office meeting to talk about 
Jewish American Heritage 
Month, as possibly the only 
Jewish — and certainly only 
kippah-wearing — person in 
the office.
When it was confirmed 

that I’d have a chance to 
speak, I was less enthusiastic 
than one might have 
expected. I mulled through 
ideas in my head for a few 
days, unable to get away 
from the question of how 
I could possibly synthesize 
the importance of Jewish 
American Heritage Month, 
Jewish American history 
and antisemitism, all in 15 
minutes or less.
Then, I realized how well-
equipped I already was with 
plenty of talking points.
Last year, I had the 
opportunity to participate 
in the Glass Leadership 
Institute (GLI), a leadership 
development program that 
highlights all facets of the 
ADL (Anti-Defamation 

League), and empowers 
young professionals to 
fight antisemitism in 
their communities. Over 
the course of the year, 
GLI participants have the 
opportunity to hear from 
leaders at the Center on 
Extremism, the Education 
Department, the Israel 
& Middle East Affairs 
Department and plenty 
more.
After a remarkably 
interesting year, I was 
offered the chance to 
co-chair the GLI cohort 
and, in turn, hear each 
session again, along with an 
opportunity to attend the 
National Leadership Summit 
in Washington, D.C.
And that’s where I was 

on April 30, when I learned 
about Jewish American 
Heritage Month for the first 
time.

UNPACKING IDEAS 
FROM ADL’S NATIONAL 
LEADERSHIP SUMMIT
From the very first plenary, 
the National Leadership 
Summit was unlike any other 
Jewish conference I had been 
to before. 
 The message was clear 
that we were there to listen, 
learn and lobby as we fight 
the arduous battle against 
antisemitism.
We were prepared for 
some things, like the 
otherwise startling statistics 
from the ADL’s 2022 Audit 
of Antisemitic Incidents, 

Jeremy 
Rosenberg 

guest column

The Importance of Jewish 
American Heritage Month

